The Macross Unit
by Ferrebee
Summary: A Story of survival, in a world rampant with chaos some Canon, mostly created charactersALTERNATE TIMELINE. RATED M


Macross: The Vanguard

story by: Various RPers from the Macross Unit Group.

Written and revised by: Joseph Ferrebee (Mothman47)

Special thanks to: you have any questions, feel free to e-mail me at This story has nothing to do with the original Macross series or Robotech. Any likeness or similar likeness of characters is purely coincidential. Robotech is owned by the creator and Harmony Gold, This story is only for fun.

Chapter 1, Act 1:

The Beginning

The sun rose over the horizon of Base 4, located in Western Europe, bordering the Russian Mainland. As the first calls were sound, Captain Benjamin Long rose from his bunk, got his uniform on, and fixed his hat, ready for one of the biggest days of his career. As he made his daily rounds across the compounds, He finally arrived at the Main Center for Combat Craft and Equipment, or MCCCE.

As He stepped through the doors, he was greeted with a handshake and a voice only few would hear.

"Captain...Very good to see you this morning. Please join the rest of your colleauges."

Brigadier General Alfred Jackson was a hard man, but fair to the greatest extent. As He led the Captain into the conference room, He was greeted with a few salutes, and a few handshakes.

"As you were, ladies and gentlemen..." The General said as the rest of the group sat down in their chairs and opened their portfolios.

"Ok people...You realize why I've selected you to join me in this conference, correct?"

Everyone nodded and replied with "Yes sir".

Jackson smiled and nodded. "Good. Now then, each and every one of you have the potential to be the commander of our newly acquired Carrier."

He then opened up a large folder and placed it on the middle of the table. "This is the Vanguard. This is the next-generation carrier that we are placing in combat in less than 3 weeks. Now...Today after much diliberation with my peers...I am going to select one of you to become the commander. So...before I make my decision, let me just say, that in my eyes, all of you will be the greatest commanders of your own fleets."

Ben simply stayed quiet and kept his eyes on his commanding officer. "I select Captain Benjamin Long as the Commander of our new Carrier. Congratulations."

Ben stood up and shook hands with the general as the others stood and clapped, symbolizing their congratulations.

Later that following day, Benjamin and Alfred were walking along the hangar, viewing the Vanguard. "Its quite a sight...ain't it, Captain?"

Ben simply nodded. "Yes sir, it is...Sir...Do I even know who my crew is? Or have you not decided?"

The general simply took a deep breath and smiled a bit. "Well, as far as I know, some of your pilots are former Marines..."

Ben simply laughed a bit. "Sir...No problem keeping some jarheads in line..."

The general then laughed himself. "No, Captain...I don't think you understand...these 2 men are the cream of the crop. Probably the greatest soldiers..."

Ben simply rose and eyebrow. "Sir...is that an over exaggeration?"

Jackson laughed and looked at Ben, resting a hand on his sholder. "I'm not bullshiting you here, Captain. They've already gotten their transfer papers this morning." Ben looked at the general.

"Sir...you never told me their names..."

Chapter 2

The Pilots

"Momma and Poppa were layin' in bed!"

-"Momma and Poppa were layin' in bed!"

"Momma rolled over, this is what she said!"

-"Momma rolled over, this is what she said!"

"I'll give you somethin'!"

-"I'll give you somethin'!"

"I'll give you somethin'!"

-"I'll give you somethin'!"

"PT!"

-"PT!"

"PT!"  
-"PT!"

"Good for you!"

-"Good for you!"

"Good for me!"

-"Good for me!"

As the platoon of the 331st Light Infantry Brigade of the UN Marines Double-Timed their way across the airstrip, 2 soldiers stood out. One looked incredibly young, 13, at least, the other, much older than the other one, 25. Both had black hair, but the older one had Green, piercing eyes while the other had more tame blue eyes. They were issued re-enlistment papers to switch armed forces, from the UN Marines, to the UN Spacy.

"3rd Platoon! Dismissed!"

As the soldiers walked with their packs back to the barracks, the older man walked his way back to his bunk, while the shorter made his own way to a seperate bunk. The older man pulled a cigarette from his pant pocket, putting it in his mouth and lighting it, inhaling the toxic smoke.

"Lancer, put that damn thing out, we're not in a combat zone." He turned to the man who told him to put the cigarette out.

"It's 'Captain' to you, Lieutenant. And for your information, It's perfectly fine for me to smoke out of doors, so don't force me to pull out the papers in your face."

His accent was slightly Russian, but it wasn't unnatural to find Russians, Japanese or French men in the same Company, it was after all the UN Armed Forces.

"Fine, Captain, would you PLEASE put that damn cig out? Its killing my HEALTHY lungs." Lancer turned and sighed.

"Fine, FINE! Be a pussy." The Lieutenant laughed and playfully punched his sholder as his captain put the cigarette out.

"Hey...whos that kid? Y'know, the FNG..." One of the soldiers asked.

"I dunno...He seems pretty quiet...and the funny thing is, me and him got the same papers..." The soldier looked at the captain and rose and eyebrow.

"The same papers? What do you mean, Captain?" He opened the door to the bunks and walked in, pulling out a folder and showing the lieutenant and the soldier.

"These...re-enlistment papers. They're shippin' me from rainy Washington State, to the UN Spacy HQ at Europe...that little boy is going as well...I'm leavin tomorrow."

The Lieutenant looked at the paper and laughed a bit. "Your name is Griffin? What Kind of name is Griffin, Sir?" Griffin looked at him and smiled.

"Greek. It means Protector. It was my father's name as well." The men nodded and continued to undress to get in the showers.

"So tell me, captain, After 8 years of kicking terrorist ass in different areas of the world, INCLUDING the Federated States of Micronesia, and survived the Middle East Insurgent attacks at the Embassy for 3 years of duty, with a bunch of medals and awards, and you also have a spot in running for the Medal Of Honor...My my, we got a large record...and no girl to call your own?"

The Lieutenant gloated. Griffin looked at him and laughed out loud.

"Listen...I don't care what anybody says, pussy is not my main goal in life. The protection of humanity and the just is my priority. When I meet a woman who respects that, then maybe...I just might ask that woman."

One soldier then blurted out quickly, "I got $60 that he wont get a girl by the end of this year."

All of the soldiers laughed and someone else added to the pool. Griffin quickly put order back into the situation.

"Ok, calm down boys...no betting. If you forgot, I'm the C.O here in this barracks, and this company, so don't cash your chips in." Most of the men groaned and kept showering.

"Hey kid, what the hell do you think you're doing? Don't touch my stuff."

One of the soldiers kicked Stevens' hand off of his trunk. Steven silently got dressed and got out some papers that he needed. He then packed the things he needed and slung them over his sholder. The soldier continued to pick on him.

"Hey, kid! Where you going, back to your mother?" Steven quickly turned and landed a punch square in his nose, knocking him down and out. He then turned back and continued out of the barracks and waited at the bus stop, getting picked up. About an hour later, Griffin walked out of his barracks and lit a fresh cigarette, waiting by the bus stop. He was then promply picked up. As he put the cigarette out, He slowly closed his eyes, resting before he arrived at the airport...

Chapter 3

The crew

"Shit...I'm late again!" Kisa quickly grabbed her gear and took a fast look in the mirror. She sighed and simply put her hair in a bun before heading out the door. She was a young woman, 19, with strong Japanese characteristics, since both of her parents were both Japanese. Her hair was sholder length, with her deep blue eyes. Her figure was also something to look at as well. Curves that would drive any man crazy. Her main specialization was involved in mechanics, but she could shoot. Both with a rifle and a throttle. She quickly arrived at the airport, taking the Western Flight to the U.N Spacy headquarters of Europe. As she boarded the flight, she didn't notice any familiar faces, or anyone she could make out from her company. She sighed and relaxed, letting the plane ride through.

"Dammit...Fucking people, getting in my way..." Cross grumbled. He hated flights, just as much as he hated many other things in his life. As the Commander of the Vector Unit stationed in German-held Korea, he was one of the best pilots the human race had to offer. Sure, there were Invid-Human and Zentradi-Human hybrids In the world, he really didn't care about the world. He cared more about his unit that was going to be assigned to the Vanguard. The Vector unit was the top ranking fighter squadron in the armed forces. Most times, his officers would want him to respect them. Most of the things he wanted was strength and power. He was known to seriously hurt anyone that got in his way. Right now he was just pissed, for no particular reason at all. He leaned back in his chair and relaxed, waiting for the flight to end.

A few hours later, the Plane landed, and the passengers stepped off. They all were escorted by personal cars to the base, where they were left at and they were left to processing and uniform issue.

Griffin stepped inside the processing station, and sat down, looking at the secretary taking his papers.

"Ok...Name...Griffin Aleksander Lancer...age...25...hmm...wow, very good record. Captain...well, sorry to say, but you're starting back out as a mosquito wings, or as we like to call them, Ensigns."

Griffin looked at the secretary, wide eyed in disbelief.

"You gotta be shittin' me...No fucking way...You're just busting me back down to an E-1? Without any consideration to how I might feel?" The secretary simply pulled out a stamp, and slammed the stamp on the paper.

"Sorry, but we don't carry out requests. Welcome to UN Spacy, Ensign Lancer."

Griffin stepped outside, kicking the trashcan. "YOU GOTTA BE FUCKING SHITING ME!" He sighed and lit a new cigarette, taking a drag and walking to the barracks.

Kisa walked into the hangar, seeing the carrier that she would be on, repairing the fighters and maintaining the integrity of the hull.

"Wow...this thing is big..." Just then, Captain Ben stepped up behind her and smiled a bit.

"You're going to be on my crew, correct?" Kisa turned and nodded.

"Yes sir. Kisa Mei Ishii Reporting for duty." She then saluted, in which Ben saluted back.

"Good...we won't be taking off until all of our crew gets here, and that won't be until tomorrow night. So, I suggest you go ahead and find your bunk for tonight so you won't be left out in the cold." Kisa smiled and nodded.

"Yes sir." She then walked out of the hangar, bumping into another woman. She had short, dirty blonde hair, with blue eyes and a few small scars on her face.

"Sorry..." The woman had mumbled as she then walked up to Ben with some papers.

"I'm the backup you requisted, sir."

Chapter 4

Rabbit

Ben turned and took the papers, reading them and looking back up to her.

"Rabbit...thats it? No other names?" She smirked a bit and walked up a bit closer.

"No sir. Just Rabbit. If you don't like it, I suggest you just don't talk to me. I'm your merc." Rabbit wasn't too old, maybe only 17 or 18 at the most. The scars seemed to make her look into a middle-aged woman. She had slender hips and thighs, with a bust to match. She wore a somewhat skin-tight suit, black with small red stripes on her ribs and thighs.

"So...I guess I'm heading back to my bunk...nice meetin' you." She smiled and walked off, as if it was no ones' business.

Rabbit had been involved with the merc corps ever since she was a girl at age 15. She had been involved with numerous clashes with the Zentradi, getting cut up and bloodied almost voluntarily. She always carried her customized Desert Eagle, with her trademark rabbit on the butt of the handle, in a holster on her thigh. Amoung her peers, she was well-known to be a tough fighter, and she could hold her own with a good squadron of fighters.

She made her way into the barracks, walking down the hallway and heading into her room, where right next door, she heard a few thumps on the wall. She ignored this and sat down in a chair, leaning back a bit and resting her eyes...

The night was cool, and Rabbit was in her bed, dead asleep. Her cell phone rang and she picked it up, putting it up to her ear.

"Yes?" A hard male voice came over the ear piece.

"Rabbit...having fun with your vacation?" She groaned a bit, rubbing her eyes.

"Oh yeah...I met this nice guy in a bar last night..." The male voice sounded surprised.

"Really?" Rabbit laughed a bit and shook her head.

"Hell no. Anyway, what kind of job do you got for me?" The voice sighed and the sound of paper ruffling could be heard.

"Ok...Well, today is a good day for us. We're getting a good chance to get a good payoff. One of the new carriers, the Vanguard, is looking for some crew members. most of them are already enlisted, but threre is a slight shortage of pilots. You're the only qualified person for this mission. And the UN Armed Forces are willing to pay us $3,000,000 for our services. Its better than nothing, and you get 30 percent of the income. So what do you say?"

Rabbit smiled, standing up and streaching her naked figure in the moonlit room.

"You got yourself a deal." The voice then responded.

"Good...and one more thing. Play nice for once." She smiled and hung up, pulling out her suit and her handgun and tossing them on the bed...

Rabbit opened her eyes, setting the chair back down on all 4 legs. She then took a peek outside and saw that it was dark. She had fallen asleep and now she was going to be crabby the next morning. "Damn...I guess I can try again..." She stood up and undressed, getting into her bed and stuffing her Desert Eagle under her pillow, and slowly falling back asleep.

Chapter 5

Introspection

The sound of a lighter could be heard in the slience of Griffin's room, lighting a cigarette. He was still awake, reading a novel aptly titled, "Your Love Life and How It Will Add Up" After the comments by his former unit, he suddenly began to think about his future. He wasn't going to be in the armed forces forever, he needed a job afterwards and a place to settle down and have kids..

."Kids?" Griffin suddenly said, taking a drag. He then shook his head and closed the book, putting out the cigarette and taking off his shirt, tossing it on a chair.

"Fuck it...I've got to get ready for tomorrow...no use just being tired all day..." He then kicked off his boots and got into bed, falling dead asleep as soon as his head hit the pillow...

----------------------

"I can't believe what is going on here...We have a complete rag-tag group, and none are able to fly yet...at least some..."Ben said, frustrated, looking at the roster. Just then, a female voice became audible behind him.

"Then it wouldn't be so difficult to retrain them, would it?" Ben turned around to see a young woman with blonde locks of hair and nicely tanned skin. She had both the characteristics of a Zentradi and a Human, unlike Ben, who had Invid and Human in him.

"So...You're..."

He paused for a moment, looking at the roster sheet.

"Cassandra Magdalene Kieth?" The woman nodded and began to correct him.

"I prefer to be called Millah...Its much easier." Ben nodded and smiled.

"And you know me, correct?" Millah simply smiled and nodded.

"Yeah...Captain Benjamin Long. I'm going to be Your XO." Ben simply nodded, looking back to the roster.

"Yeah. So far, We have about 95 of our total crew accounted for. 5 are as for the moment, Inactive, due to combat injuries...But I have my eye on a few pilots...Namely Ensigns Lancer and Darkfire...Lancer's story is the basic run-and-gun hero...Not too much on his childhood though...Steven is a different story. Nothing on his military background...except that he was in the Marines...and...oh...Lets see here...12 court marshalls...on accounts of disobaying direct orders from a superior...He seems pretty contempt on doing what he wants..." He then looked at Millah. "What do you think?" She simply kept to her self, only pointing to the schedule.

"I think its late, and we need to get our rest. No use in having both a Captain and his XO tired...I'll see you in the mass formation." She then walked out, closing the door behind her.

"Strange..." Ben whispered, shaking his head and looking back to the schedule. "8 AM..." As Ben walked out of the buliding, he entered his barracks, where he opened the door and walked in, hanging his uniform and his cap, laying on the bed. He slowly closed his eyes and attempted to sleep.

Chapter 6

First Unit Mass

As Revelille was called that morning, the newly assembled crew shot up and put their uniforms on, eager to start the morning, in anticipation of what was going to happen. As they finished their personal grooming and other habits, they then stepped out of their individual barracks buildings at their own time, simply lounging around or having breakfast at the mess hall, that is until the bugle call assemblance was heard, followed by the announcement,

"Attention all Vanguard crew members, proceed to hangar 33 for Mass assembly. That is all."

Immediately, they did as they were told, hurrying to the hangar.

--------------------

-"You will not say a word! You will not speak unless spoken to! Do you  
ladies understand me?"

- "Sir! Yes! Sir!"

-"From this point forward you will eat,  
think and dream Marines! Do you maggots understand?"

-"Sir! Yes! Sir!"

-"We are in a war, Gentlemen!  
The future of the species depends on you people becoming Government certified! You each will become  
a Trained Killer! Every time you see an enemy that does not say UNMC, UNS, UNA, or UNN on it you will kill it! What are you  
going to do ladies? "

-"Kill! Kill! Kill!"

- "That's right. Each time we fight, we will be adding another marker on your fighters,  
so that you will become strong of mind and pure of heart! We are going to rid the world of all commie,  
pinko, alien scum and replace them with Marine! You are going to be trained mercenaries of  
death, spreading the gospel of the Marine Corps! Now get your asses movin' and fall out on the  
parade deck!"

-"YES SIR!"

Griffin watched as he saw a large group of marines in mass being lectured in their mission: To protect the Vanguards' interior structrue integrity and its crew. As he heard the annoucement, He simply turned and walked his way to the hangar, seeing that a massive group of people were already there. He simply shrugged and fell in at the middle, where he could get a good view of the ship itself. His eyes then moved to a large stage where a microphone was at. A young man then walked up and tapped the mic twice.

"Hello there." He said somewhat shy, but with a good intent. The large mass of engineers, pilots and crewmen quickly snapped to attention and saluted.

"Good Morning, Sir!" They said in unison. Ben Returned the salute and they put their arms down, now at the position of attention.

"I'm Captain Benjamin Long. I am your commanding officer for the Vanguard. Each and every one of you have a duty to maintain, and a tradition to follow. You will all be compatable in any situation at hand, be it space, a foreign planet or the 6th circle of hell. None of you will quit as long as I'm in command. And that also goes for your Executive Officer that cannot make it this morning, due to she as an important staff meeting. If you have any doubts on what your assigned job is, do not hesitate to ask. But as of now, I want each and every one of you to be aquainted with each other, Because you're going to be seeing each other for a very, very long time. 2 1/2 years to be exact, unless stated otherwise. Thats all I have to say. We will be leaving at 2AM Friday morning, so i suggest you get some early rest. Dismissed."

Griffin simply shook his head and fell out of the formation. He couldn't get aquainted with the crew now, he still needed to set some things straight with a few people. As he walked to the recreation building, he lit a new cigarette, letting the embers burn off before he took a drag. As he walked inside, he noticed that a group of pilots with the same patch were playing pool.

Vector and his squad members were playing a round of pool when Griffin walked in. Already, he could smell the cigarette smoke eeking around the area. Vector snorted slightly and looked over to Griffin. Already he didn't like the look of him. His uniform was kept nicely, he stood up straight, and nonetheless, he was damn proud from the look of it.

Griffin looked over at Vector. He honestly didn't think much of him, just another soldier he could talk with, if he wanted to talk, that is. Griffin slowly walked over to the bartender and pulled out his wallet, placing $200 on the top.

"Send that to Marine Command in Washington. Tell the Commander of 3rd platoon in the 331st Brigade. And add the message, "Serves you right." He then put his wallet away and walked out. As soon as he had stepped outside, he bumped into the captain. Griffin promptly saluted and nodded.

"Sir." Griffin said quickly. Ben returned the salute and nodded.

"I need to speak to you, Ensign. Its about your training."

"Training?" Griffin questioned, looking at the pack of cigarettes in his pocket. Ben nodded and pointed over to the airstrip nearby.

"Yeah...You're going to be a pilot, so you're going to have to run a few flight courses. Diagnostics, Flight, Combat, Refuel...the standard thing. Go on and get over there, Ensign..." Just as Griffin was about to walk off, Ben stopped him again. "You...Look a little old to be an Ensign..."

With the clearing of his throat, and the lighting of a cigarette, he nodded. "I was a Captain in the Marines."

"A captain, eh? Were you any good at it?" Ben asked as he looked to the pack of cigarettes that jutted slightly out of the right breast pocket of Griffins' uniform.

"Well, Sir...To be honest, if I wasn't good at what I've been doing, I wouldn't be here today." He said as he exhaled the toxic smoke slowly, still standing in front of Ben.

"I see...well, I just hope you're ready for some training...You won't be on the initial roster when we depart, Lancer. Instead, you and a few others are going to stay behind to get some flight training. You'll be on the roster in oh say...3 and one-half weeks? Sound good?"

Griffin took another drag of his cigarette and sighed slightly, nodding and letting a small smile show. "Yeah. I understand, sir...when do I start?"

"...Immediately." Ben said sternly as he walked off. Lancer turned to the air-strip and caught a jeep over to the strip. Little did he know, that not only he would be held back, but 2 others. 2 who would make an impact on his life, and the lives of others.

Chapter 7

If the shoe fits...

"Ok...now give it a little bit of pitch." The technician said over the radio. Kisa's hand slowly moved the throttle, the variable trainer being manipulated by her movements.

"Good...Lancer, how are you doing getting used to a throttle instead of a rifle?" The technician joked.

"Grr...I'd rather have a baseball bat and beat your head in." He mumbled before responding over the radio, "Its pretty good...So, when do we get to blow shit up?" To this, Rabbit chuckled slightly as she slowly swayed underneath the other two. "I've known how to do this kind of thing since day one." She said with a smile. Kisa let a little smirk cross her face in between concentration and continued silently.

After the day had ended, the three went to their bunks and slowly fell asleep...Wondering if the Vanguard had any problems lifting off and the what-not...

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

"Sir, we've located the Micronian training facility. Shall we commence our attack?" The Zentradi soldier asked.

"Negative. Wait for a little longer...We shall strike when they are at their weakest." The commander responded. For weeks, they had planned this assault, ran drills and meditated, reviewing their strategies and making sure they didn't foul up. They had infiltrated under the radar, landing in the desert miles away from where they were now. The commander then looked to his subordinates, raising his hand above his head.

"Commence attack now."

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Griffin restlessly attempted to sleep as he quietly took a deep breath, his eyes staring into the darkness of his bunk. Suddenly, a knock was heard at his bunk. Griffin sighed and sat up, popping his neck. "I'm coming..." He mumbled, walking over to the door. "Who is it?" He said quickly.

-"Its Ishii." Kisa said quietly, to which Griffin opened the door slightly.

"Yeah...what's up?" He asked in a friendly tone. "You should be asleep..."

-"I know...Look, I was just wondering if you noticed anything odd when we were flying back to the hangar...Did you?"

"No...Why? Did you see something out of the ordinary?" He asked as he opened the door fully, before taking a deep breath and concluding the situation himself. "Its probably nothing, Kisa...now get some sleep. We're running combat drills tomorrow, and I'd rather not have a training buddy asleep at the trottle. Good night."

And with that, he shut the door tight, the sound of a lock tumbing shortly after. Kisa nodded and walked back to her bunk, closing the door and locking it herself, falling asleep on her bed...

A loud, but distant explosion rocked the base, shaking a few of the soldiers awake.

Three doors that were placed beside each other opened quietly, and as if it was planned, 3 standard issue handguns popped out, being held 3 ways.

One held the pistol professionally, with one hand gripping the pistol, and the other right under it, gripping it to stabilize it.

One held it carefully, with a hand on their wrist to stop the recoil.

One held it with one hand, the aim sharp and precise, ready to fire.

Griffin, Kisa and Rabbit slowly walked out, their pistols ready. They looked at each other, and a slight tension filled the air, but was broken by another explosion, followed by a few scattered pops of a gunpod.

"Is this a combat drill?" Rabbit said quietly, walking down the hall to the exit. She stopped before she turned the knob and looked over. "...Well?"

"No...," Griffin said sternly, "Its not. We're under attack...Let's get into the fight." And with that, he pushed aside Rabbit and headed out the door, starting to go in a sprint in his white T-shirt and black PJ Pants, and his tennis shoes, heading to the hanger. In the distance, he could see about a dozen or more silhouettes.

"Zentradi Grunts! Over the treeline!" He yelled as he sprinted. As he reached the entrance, he could see a few other trainees getting in the Veritechs and Destroids. As he counted, He noticed that there was only a VT Trainer, and an old VF-1A.

"Ok...Me and Rabbit will take the trainer. Kisa, You go and take that old fighter..."

In a few minutes, the pilots were in their fighters, and already taking off, just enough to transform into the battloid mode, readying their Gunpods and checking the scanners, all the while, the Zentradi attack force were rampaging about a mile away.

"Ok...lets get to work, guys." Griffin had said as he started to move the battloid, its legs churning slowly, the sound of gears being worked, as there were a few obvious signs that it needed some maitenance. Griffin looked behind him and saw that Rabbit was already at work, attempting to fix the radar. As she fumbled with it, she growled in frustration and slammed her fist into the screen. Amazingly, she turned it on, and now the entire battle-field was revealed to them.

"We're online. Ishii, how are you holding out?" Kisa had already been set up before she walked up next to them, loading the gunpod and pointing to the Zentradi.

-"I'm good." As she squeezed the trigger, the gunpod ripped to life, spurting out shells at her target, a huge plum of smoke rising slowly into the air.

"I got him!" She yelled in excitement, moving forward. As the smoke cleared, the Zentradi Grunt was still standing, and he didn't look happy as he aimed his rifle at her. "Shit..." She said quickly before high powered rounds pounded into her armor, knocking her veritech down to the ground.

"Damn it, Did you fire smoke rounds?!" Rabbit squaked over the radio, to which Kisa growled slightly and responded. "Well, they're obviously not Impailer rounds, so what the hell do you think!?"

"Both of you, shut up!" Griffin managed to yell in the middle of this, before he brought the Gunpod up and took aim. "Ok. My turn." He squeezed the trigger, and the results were devastating as he could see the grunt fall. He chuckled and started to move forward, the legs moving a bit shakily as they moved forward toward the disturbance. Kisa, finding her way back up, followed at a steady gait, switching out her weapons from smoke rounds to standard.

-"We need support!" A pilot yelled over the radio as he came in contact with a small squad of Zentradi. They quickly over-ran him, pounding down his Battloid with their gun pods, the veritech exploding in a plum of smoke. His partners arrived too late, but quickly engaged the Zentradi, opening fire and taking down one. The others retalliated, and over powered the pilots, just as The two veritechs arrived on the scene.

"Ok, Split up!" Griffin said as they both quickly split up and began to open fire. Kisa took cover behind a hangar building, as Rabbit and Griffin strafed around them and began to back them up into a tight circle as they took them down with headshots through their armor. As they looked around, they noticed more Zentradi heading deeper into the base. As the last Zentradi grunt fell limp, Griffin's Veritech lurched toward the direction of the Zentradi's movements.

"C'mon, we gotta link up with the rest of the defensive forces," Rabbit said quickly, as she pushed forward on Griffin's head.

"Hey!" He muttered as he quickly sped up his Battliod as Kisa followed suit, running right beside him. Along the way, a few stray veritechs and their pilots joined up, following the trainer.

Inside the leg of the Trainer, a gear became loose, and cut a coolant wire, the coolant spraying everywhere inside it, short-circuting the movement systems. Slowly, it began to de-cellerate as the pair had turned into a small squad of 8.

"Damn it...Hold up, guys...We need to make repairs..." Griffin said as he slowed down, and made the veritech kneel to the point where he could climb down and climb back up when he was finished. As he picked up a service rifle from under the pilot seat and climbed down, loading a fresh clip into the rifle as soon as he was able to. He then opened up the maintainance hatch and looked inside.

"Jesus...Guys, Can you hold here for a bit?" Rabbit asked as the pilots agreed and made a tight circle around them. "Griffin, What's it look like inside?"

-"Really fucked up. I think I can manage to get it moving again, for a little while...Give me...6 minutes." Just as he finished his sentence, a large group of Zentradi Rebels ran up toward the group, their weapons blazing like mad as they attempted to eliminate the small squad of Veritechs.

"Protect the trainer!" One pilot yelled as he moved in front of the Zentradi hoarde and began to open fire with his gunpod. Others did the same, as well as Kisa, staying right beside the trainer while Griffin Continued to work with the leg.

"Son of a..." He muttered, his fingers slipping out of reach of a circuit board. He leaned in a bit more as the gunfire intensified. His heartrate began to speed up, as his adrenaline kicked in. He grunted a bit as he rewired and reconnected the circuitry as best as he possibly could, but he yelled in frustration. "Kisa...You're a mechanic...Right? Get down here and help me!"

Kisa nodded and grounded her veritech as she got out, her slender body moving off of the cold steel as she ran over to Griffin, leaning inside as well. "Ok...let me see...Griffin, take my Veritech and cover me."

"Right..." Griffin said as he sprinted over to the VF-1A, starting it up and readying the Gunpod, moving into the defensive position with the other veritechs.

"Sarge! We're runnin' low on ammo!" One pilot yelled as his gunpod stopped firing, the white gun smoke and hot steam spewing out of the barrels of his weapon. The Sergeant looked over to his ensign, then back to the hoarde of Rebels taking cover behind large buildings and hangars, firing bursts of rounds frequently to keep the Veritechs pinned.

"I got an idea...Cover me, boys!" The Sergeant yelled, his veritech starting to charge right into the enemy position. The Sergeants' subordinates, along with Griffin, gave him covering fire, pinning down rebels who could damage the sergeant's veritech.

As the sergeant stopped behind a hangar building, He switched into the guardian mode, Strafe-hovering out from behind the hangar, firing his light missles at oppertunity targets and positions, demolishing the buildings and taking down stray rebels. The sergeant then switched back and hurried over to the defensive position, opening fire on the last few zentradi rebels hiding out, spotting targets for his subordinates. "Hows the maintainance project going?" He asked.

"Horrible. I've done all I can. We have to get there on foot. Can you guys give us a quick escort?"

"No problem, Ladies," The sergeant said as he rallied his units up to move out. Rabbit jumped out of the damaged veritech, looking around for some kind of vehicle or transportation. She found it no more than 200 yards away, grabbing Kisa by the sholder of her shirt and dragging her. "C'mon," She said, running over to a jeep.

"Lets go! We're about a mile from the defensive position!" One of the ensigns yelled, starting to take off beside the jeep. The others followed, as they made their way toward the defensive position uneventfully.

As they pulled up to the defensive positions, they could see veritechs, destriods, marines, artillery and defensive positions placed around the central HQ, ready for action, about 2,000 total. An officer walked up, a cigar in his mouth as he looked up at the group of 7 veritechs and 1 jeep. He chewed the butt of the cigar before taking a drag of it, blowing it out with authority.

"Ok, dismount from your vehicles, guys. You boys need to speak to the General, A.S.A.P!" As they dismounted from their vehicles, they were escorted inside Central HQ, a nicely polished, oaken interior, reminiscent of the old days when wars were fought by other humans. As they stepped inside, the rooms, offices and hallways were filled with life, phones ringing, voices talking at each other with panic and some distress, but there was one who was keeping a cool head about it.

"We need at least one more division of men to protect the H.Q, General...I know we're the only forces within the country...Yes...But we're in desperate need of supplies too, sir...Yes, Sir...2 days? Yes sir. We'll do our best." General Jackson then hung up the phone, sighing quietly.

"Sir...We have some more stray units..."

-"Bring them In, Major."

"Yes sir."

As the officer led the soldiers in, he saluted, then closed the door, leaving the group of them alone with the Brigadier General.

"Have a seat, ladies and Gentlemen..." He said quietly, pulling out a box of cigars and resting them on the table. "Cigar, anyone?" Almost all of the soldiers declined except Griffin. He gently picked one from the litter and pulled out his lighter, taking a slow drag, relaxing a bit. "Thank you, General..."

The muffled sound of combat could be heard from outside, letting the soldiers wonder if they would leave this facilty alive or not.

"You're welcome, Ensign...All of you pilots did an excellent job in fighting your way here. I'm proud of ya. But this isn't over yet. We still have a situation. Apparently, the forces we're dealing with are a conglomerate of Zentradi armada troops and rebel civilains. Both miniturized and normal. They've set up a base camp about 2 miles from here. Its pretty much calm right now...but this is just the scout unit. The main force will be here..."

Just then, the scattered sound of gunfire began to pick up, followed by jet engines, machine guns and artillery.

"This petty engagement...is now a war, boys and girls. We've gotten reports of this kind of thing happening almost everywhere. We've even gotten reports of Invid approaching our planet as well. And if you've been catching up on your history...you all know how bad it gets when Invid gets stirred into the mixing pot of destruction...You boys try and catch up with your company commanders and Platoon Sergeants, see where they want you. Everyone is dismissed except for Lancer, Ishii, and Rabbit..." The others left, leaving the General alone with the three.

"You guys are from the Vanguard, am I correct?"

The three nodded quietly, allowing the General to continue.

"Ok...I can contact your captain, and see if he can't "beam" You guys up."

The General picked up the phone and pressed a single button. "Yes...Re-direct me to the Vanguard, A.S.A.P."

----

On the Vanguard, the ship was on battle stations, the red klaxon alarm buzzing in his ear.

"Make sure we're on line with the rest of the fleet, Navigator..." He said cooly, his eyes shifting around for a few moments before he noticed Millah holding a phone out to him. "Sir, its the General. He wants a word with you."

-"Yes, General? Whats wrong?"

"Ben, good to hear your voice. Listen, the boys on UNS H.Q are in a tight spot. We're under a heavy assault by Zentradi forces, and a possible invid counter-attack is imminant. We'd like for you to do a quick sweep of our base. Just give it a pounding...Also, I have 3 of your crew members here. They fought tooth and nail to get to the defensive position. You should be proud of them."

-"Uh, yes sir. Thank you, Sir...Would you request some additional backup? Or would you just want me to send the Vanguard to orbit?"

"I just need you to give us support, and I don't care how you do it. Get on with it, Captain." And with that, the General hung up, looking at the 3 individuals who were sitting in his office.

"You pilots better take cover. Your Captain is about to give us some timely support..." And with that, he pointed down, ducking under his desk. Griffin, Rabbit and Kisa did the same, hiding under the same huge desk.

"We are in range, Sir! Ready to fire on your command!" The Gunnery sergeant from the gundeck bellowed into the radio. Ben looked at his watch to time it right, though there was no reason to, he decided it would be best to at that moment in time. As his second hand struck 12, he looked up.

-"Fire!"

On the sides and the bottom of the Vanguard, the heavy ion and fusion cannons powered up slowly, the energy building up higher and higher inside the cannons electric storage compartments, until in one fluid blast, the cannons fired, blue and yellow energy beams shot down from the orbit of Earth onto a single fixed point. The impact lit up the night sky, similar to a nuclear warhead. First was the flash, then the bang. The initial concussion knocked down any units that were not covered up somewhat, or were destroyed. Then again, another flash, another bang, repeating itself over 40 times in less than 2 minutes.

As the explosions died down, and the sounds of chaos subsided, the group of military professionals looked out from under the table, counting their blessings. The General was first to get up.

"...Its over boys and girls...You can get up now." The General spoke, dusting off his sholder as he walked outside. The trio followed quietly, arriving outside to a scene of destruction.

"Guys...look!" Kisa yelled, pointing to the sky, seeing the Vanguard's silhouette hovering above orbit. Rabbit looked and noticed it, and smirked, while Griffin yelled.

"Hoorah! Thats the way!" He said, raising his fist in excitement.

-"General! Radio!" An ensign yelled, running up to the General, handing him the small radio. "General Jackson here...Yes...I did give those orders...Thank you, Sir." With that, he handed the radio back to the ensign. "...We'll flag down the Vanguard for you now. You pilots should get some well deserved rest..."

With that, the General left, walking away quietly. Griffin turned from the General and looked upon the battlefield. It was sheer chaos, as there were destroyed mechs, veritechs, and dead soldiers scattered along the wide range, peppering the green hills and pastures as far as he could see.

"...This was a disaster." He muttered. "I've never seen so many dead in a single engagement..."

-"It was a well-organized disaster..." Rabbit jumped in, looking at the battlefield herself. "It was worth it...but it was worth a big cost...Well...to them, for the most part."

--"But...What about our dead? Our missing and lost?" Kisa said quietly, looking for herself now. "...I feel sorry for their families."

"Don't feel sorry. This was their job...And its yours as well. If you die, take it with a dash of gun powder and a match. Go out with a bang. I know thats how I wanna go..." Griffin said quietly, inhaling the last of his cigar, before spitting it out and stamping it dead. He then walked off. "C'mon...we've gotta get ready for our departure."


End file.
